Pneumatic pump comprising a plunger or raiser tube for oil or grease barrels



Oct. 25, 1960 P. DE GRor-:F 2,957,431

' PNEUMATIC PUMP COMPRISING A PLUNGER OR RAISER TUBE FOR OIL 0R GREASEBAR LS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 17, 195e n 'IZ/111111111 Oct. 25,1960 P. DE GROEF PNEUMATIC PUMP COMPRISING A RAISER TUBE FOR OIL PLUNGER0R 0R GREASE BARRELS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 17, 1958 Unite StatesPatent() PNEUMATIC PUMP COMPRISING A PLUNGER R BAISER TUBE FOR OIL 0RGREASE BARRELS Pierre De Groef, 525 Chaussee de Waterloo, Brussels,Belgium The present invention relates to oil and grease pneumatic pumpsused in garages and service stations to tap oil and grease from barrelsto be distributed by guns and other distributing apparatus. Thesepumpshave a discharge tube which is inserted into a barrel through itsbunghole, and through which the oil or grease is raised by the pumpwhich conveys it under pressure to the distributng apparatus.

Up to now pumps of this kind were portable pumps including exible hosesfor their connection to a compressed air supply and to the distributingapparatus. These flexible hoses are troublesome and their replacement isexpensive, particularly for grease hoses which have to withstand veryhigh pressures. The use of movable pumps can be inconvenient inasmuchthat the oil or grease remaining on the discharge tube of these pumpsonce withdrawn from the barrels spoils anything that touches the tubeand the grease or oil runs on the ground if the pump is laid down, andin this position dirt from the ground sticks to the plunger of the pumpand might cause the pump to become faulty.

The present invention obvates these drawbacks and offers severalimportant advantages.

According to the invention there is provided a xed support in which thedischarge tube of the pump is supported and vertically guided in orderto be inserted into a full barrel brought under the support and to belifted or raised to withdraw it from an empty barrel to be replaced.

The pump and tube being so supported, it becomes possible according tothe invention to provide for its connection to distributing apparatusand/or compressed air supply rigid pipes which are much simpler and moreeconomical than the usual exible hoses.

In one form of the invention applying particularly to oil pumps thesupport of the tube comprises the pump body itself, connected t-o thetube by a bush in which the tube is guided so as to slide vertically. Aconnection between the tube and the pump is provided in the bottomposition of the tube through ports in the wall of the latter lopenin-gwithin the bush.

In another embodiment of the invention, the pump body is mounted on thetube, above the latter, and has detachable connections through whichcommunication is established between the pump and pipes fixed to thesupport, in the bottom position of the tube, and respectively leading tothe distributing apparatus and the compressed air supply. Thesedetachable connections are advantageously of the plug and socket type,locking means being provided to keep them engaged in the bottom positionof the tube. The support may advantageously be tubular and form part ofone of the pipes.

The support may be rigid, but there is a great advantage iu articulatingit so that the portion bearing the tube can be turned in a horizontalplane to facilitate introducing the tube into the barrel if the latteris not With its bunghole right under the tube. In this case the tube maybe brought in line with the axis of the bunghole by pivotal movement ofthe support instead of moving the heavy barrel to bring in line thebunghole and the tube. Two pivoted joints can be provided allowing thetube to sweep the complete upper surface of the barrel to reach thebunghole. With the same aim in mind, the support can be provided withone or more telescopic portions.

It may be of advantage to have a pump witha higher output than thenormal portable pumps, the increase in weight and dimensions consequentto the increase of power being not inconvenient as it would be in thecase of a portable pump, thanks to the iixed support, particularly whenthis support comprises the pump body so that only the weight anddiameter of the tube are to be considered for handling facility.

The accompanying drawings show by way of example three embodiments ofthe invention,

Figs. 1 and 2 are side elevati-ons partly broken away of two wallsupported pumps, and

Fig. 3 shows a pump with mounted on a column.

Referring to Fig. l, the pump support comprises the pump body 1 attachedhorizontally to a wall 2 by means `of bolts 3 and having an extension 4closed at its outer end to form a chamber 5 communicating with the pump1 through a port 6 and valve 7.

A discharge tube S'extends vertically through the extension 4 and isguided so as to slide vertically in openings 9 provided with sealingmeans 10. Ports 11 bored laterally in the upper part of the tube A8provide communication for the latter with the chamber 5 when the tube islowered in the position shown on the drawing. When the tube 8 is raisedby means of the handle 12 to withdraw it from a barrel, the ports 11 nolonger coincide with the chamber 5 and the ycommunication between thetube and the pump is broken.

Two pipes 13, 14 connect the pump 1 respectively to a compressed airsupply operating it and to the distributing apparatus discharging thegrease or oil sucked from the barrel by the pump through the tube andforced under pressure through the pipe 14.

In the second embodiment of the invention shown on Fig. 2, the supportis a tubular bracket 15 bolted at 16 to a wall 17 and ending in a bush18 in which the tube 19 attached to the pump is vertically guided. Thepump 20 can be raised with the tube 19 by means of the handles 21 andlocked either in the upper or lower position by means of a locking screw22.

The lower part of the pump 20 is provided with two valve sockets 23, 24which in the bottom position of the tube 19 i't on two valve plugs 25,26 mounted on the support 15, and connect the pump to the compressed airsupply pipe 27 and to the pipe 28 leading to the distributing apparatus.The tubular support 15 is used as a passage t-o connect the plug 26 tothe pipe 28 and forms therefore part of the latter.

In the third embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3, a joint 30 isprovided between the pump body 31 and the bush 32 in which the tube 33is supported and vertically guided at the end of the extension 34 whichcan be turned about the joint 30 to bring the tube 33 in line with thebunghole of the barrel 35. The extension 34 may be telescopic in orderto increase the range of the tube 33. With the same aim in mind a secondjoint may be provided at a convenient point of the support. This secondjoint, in this example, is provided by a vertical pivot connection 36connecting the grease or oil pipe 38 to the column 37 supporting thepump. The pump assembly with the tube 33 may pivot on said joint 36, thecompressed air being fed to the pump through a pipe coaxial with thepipe 38, or through an articualted support ,part of a building orstructure and other modifications pump and support assembly scope oftheinvention.

may be brought to the without departing from the I claim:

1. In a device for evacuating Huid from a portable container having adischarge port, the combination of a pneumatic, rotary, suction pumphaving an inlet port and an outlet port; a xed elongated horizontalsupporting medium having a longitudinally extending passageway thereinand on which said pump is carried; a discharge tube so verticallyslidable on said supporting medium as to be insertable into thecontainer through said discharge port, and having an inlet end disposedin said container and a discharge end yfor connection to said inlet portof said pump; and a second tube having one end for connection to saidoutlet port of said pump for discharging the uid from the device, thepassageway in the supporting medium forming the connection between oneof the ports of the pump to the corresponding end of one of the tubeswhen the discharge tube is in its lowermost position and within thecontainer, and said other port of the pump being directly connected tothe corresponding end of the other tube.

2. In a device for evacuating fluids according to claim 1, in which thedischarge end of `the discharge tube comprises an opening in the wallthereof adjacent one of its ends and registrable with the passagewayupon movement thereof to insert the inlet end into the container, saidpassageway extending from the opening to the inlet port of the pump, thesecond tube being directly connected to the outlet port of the pump.

3. In a device for evacuating uids according to claim 1, in which thepump is directly mounted on the discharge tube and its inlet port isdirectly connected to the discharge end thereof, the second tube havingthe one end connected to the outlet port of the pump through thepassageway. t

4. In a device for evacuating uid from a portable ycontainer having adischarge port, the combination of a pneumatic, rotary suction pumphaving an inlet port and an outlet port, an immovable supporting mediumon which said pump is carried, a discharge tube so vertically slidableon said supporting medium as to be insertable into the container throughsaid discharge port, and having an inlet end disposed in said containerand a discharge end connected to said inlet port of said pump, and asecond conduit connected to said outlet port of said pump fordischarging the uid from the device, said supporting medium having atubular bracket in which said discharge tube is slidable, said pumpbeing mounted on the upper end of said discharge tube, said conduit fordischarging the fluid being connected to the interior ofsaid bracket,said pump having a valve socket with which said voutlet port of saidpump connects, and said bracket vhaving a plug coacting with said socketto connect said outlet port with the interior of said bracket when saiddischarge tube is in its bottom position.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

